Monday 2 August 2010

Snowdon Mountain Railway - What a Rip Off!

Living in the beautiful country of North Wales, we receive many visits from our friends over the border in England to stay over for a few days. As a result I've taken the journey to Snowdon many times to show our visitors the sights.

Llanberis Pass is among my favorite drive-throughs, the beautiful shaley rocks and exquite waterfalls are all a must see. And these sights are free, with the exception of Swallow Falls which is £1.50 per adult and a bargain as the waterfall - although I've visted many times now - never fails to impress me with it's roaring, powerful flow.

Snowdon however is not a bargain. In fact I think it's a complete rip-off.

A trip to the summit on the mountain railway will cost you £25 per adult and a whopping £18 per child. A family of four will have to pay £76 for a return journey which lasts approximately 1hr and 20 mins from start to finish.

I took a friend recently and one look at the price was enough to say - actually - it isn't really worth it.


Having said that, I've done the train journey to the first drop off point and the views are breath-taking but I still can't get my head around this rather extortionate costing. Can it be that the trains are that expensive to maintain? Or is this just another one of those, 'Let's rip-off the tourist' situations.

There are different rates for one-way of course, and some people choose to walk up - but you have to have the hours to spare and definitely appropriate footwear. Snowdon Railway Prices


As a result I won't be recommending the trip to any more of my visiting friends and family - which is a shame. However across the road is a rather lovely castle ruin which is perfectly accessible and fun to climb up - also - it's free.

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